Defiant Pot Shop Must Pay $1.8 Million

Illegal operation in Pacific Beach had refused to close  

A defiant Pacific Beach marijuana dispensary and its president have been ordered to pay the City $1,835,000 in civil penalties for operating a pot shop on Garnet Avenue in violation of City zoning laws.  
The judgment against SoCal Holistic Health, Inc. and its president, Ryan Murphy, was entered Nov. 20 by Superior Court Judge Timothy Taylor, who also issued a permanent injunction that bars both SoCal and Murphy from operating another dispensary anywhere in San Diego.  
The judgment represents a penalty of $2,500 for each of the 734 days that the dispensary at 1150 Garnet Avenue acknowledged being in operation. The defendants were also ordered to reimburse to the Code Enforcement Division of the City $1,065 in investigative costs and to pay litigation costs to be determined.   
“The judges are sending a message, and so are we: Marijuana dispensaries can either follow the law or they will pay a high price for their actions,” City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said. “Every business has to comply with zoning laws. You can’t open a dog kennel or a dry cleaner anywhere you like, and neither can you open a marijuana dispensary in neighborhoods where City zoning laws forbid them. My office will continue to close these illegal dispensaries and see that their operators face stiff consequences.”  (Read More)